Fever
by xoxAmyxox
Summary: Everyone gets sick from time to time...even Mac Taylor. Mac/Stella. Stella POV.


Fever

Fever

Disclaimer: I own nada, nothing belongs to me.

Pairing: Mac and Stella (because they so belong together)

Summary: Everyone gets ill from time to time…even Mac Taylor.

Stella POV

Enjoy!

It's the middle of Febuary and I want nothing more than to go home, curl up the sofa with a hot chocolate and good chick-flic, as if that was ever going to happen anytime soon! The lab is swamped and Mac does chose his moments to swan off and leave me to it. Here I am sitting at his desk, doing his paper work and I never get so much as a thankyou! I am distracted when Danny puts his head around the door.

"Hey Stella, do you know where Mac is?" he asks, I sigh heavily.

"I keep asking myself the same question, he's not answering his phone or his pager" I say.

"Well, me and Lindsey are meeting Flack down town to interview the suspect on the William James case, can you call me when the tox screen comes back?" he asks. I think he can sense how exhausted I am.

"Yeah, sure" I say, I watch him leave, threading his arm through Lindsey's. Is there something going on there? I'm drawn out of my speculation when my phone rings. I answer it hastily, expecting it to be the tox lab with the results so I can go home and sleep.

"Bonasera?" I sigh down the phone.

"Oh, Stella, hi, it's Mac" I hear him say not really noticing the uncharacteristic sound of his voice.

"Where the hell are you? We're getting killed down here" I say.

"I'm sorry but, I just woke up…" he says, I look at my watch, it's nearly 4 in the afternoon. It's only now I realise how ill he sounds. He sounds as if he has a sore throat and blocked up nose. Suddenly I feel really sympathetic and all my anger towards him melts away.

"Are you alright?" I ask, it is a bit of a dumb question because I knows he doesn't sound well, I was just wondering if he would admit it for himself.

"I'm not feeling that great Stella" he says pausing as he heaves a chesty cough, I don't think I've ever heard him sound like this before.

"Do you want me to come over?" I ask, he must be ill if he's willing to admit he can't come into work and I don't want him to be alone.

"No, no…I'll be fine, I just need some rest that's all" he says but I kick in to mothering Stella mode.

"Have you got a fever?" I ask.

"I er, I don't know, I'm just tierd I'll let you get on, I'll call you when I feel better" he says hanging up before I can respond. I'm just about to get my coat to go over and see him myself when one of the lab techs knocks on the door.

"You might want to come and look at this" he says, I get up and follow him out. Deciding I will go to Mac's place straight after work.

It's nearly 8 in the evening by the time we have the case wrapped up and I say my goodnights to Danny and Lindsey. On the way to Mac's place I stop off at the drug store to get some asprin and the supermarket to get some chicken soup. I'm not sure he'll want it but it will be there if he does.

I arrive at his apartment within the next half hour and knock on the door. I get no response after the first couple of knocks so I resort to using my emergeny key and let myself him. The first thing I hear as I enter is the sound of someone wretching.

"Mac?" I call as I put my purchases down on the counter and follow the sounds which lead me to the bathroom. I've never seen such a sight, Mac in a plain t-shirt and sweatpants with his head resting against the toilet bowl. His face is the most unhealthiest color I've ever seen, he is practically grey and shaking in a cold sweat.

"Mac" I say sympthetically taking my coat off, hearing him cough again.

"You didn't have to come here" he says weakly. I snort.

"Yes I did, you can't stay like this all by yourself" I say reaching for a flannel and running it under the cold tap. I rinse out the excess what and flush away the contents in the toilet bowl before kneeling down next to him. I put my hand on his forehead and frown.

"Your burning up, Mac" I say putting the flannel across his forehead and pulling him away from the toilet so his head is resting against my chest. He groans and I'm not sure if it's because he is in pain or because of the soothing compress on his forehead.

"Oh, that's nice" he says breathlessly relaxing into me as a put my arm around him to steady him.

"I brought some asprin and chicken soup" I say smoothing down his damp hair which is sticking up in all direction.

"Thanks, I don't think I could handle the soup though" he says coughing deeply. His cough sounds so raw and painfull it makes me shudder. I just want to hold him and make the pain go away. I rock him gently to and fro trying to sooth his aching body but this proves quite difficult whilst sitting on his bathroom floor.

"We need to get you into bed" I say helping him to stand because he is stuggling so much to gain his balance. I put his arm around my shoulder and help him into bed, I pull the duvet covers over him as he shivers. I brush his sweaty hair from his eyesand check his forehead again, he's still really burning. No wonder he couldn't make it into work. Now I feel really guilty.

"I'll go and make you some honey and lemon tea" I say tucking him in.

"Tea?" he grumbles. I know he's a coffee man but that just isn't going to work.

"Yes, Tea, it's good for the flu" I say

"Are you trying to tell me this is just the flu?" he says irritated, he was obviously thinking he had something much worse.

"take it like a man!" I laugh trying to lighten the situation.

"What a lovely bedside manner to accompany a dying man" he says sarcastically. I laugh again, sick as a dog but his sense of humour is still there.

"I'm sorry, I'll be right back" I say. He looks so exhausted and I don't want to leave him for too long. I boil the kettle and make the honey and lemon tea. When I go back into his room he's still semi-awake. I put the steaming mug down on the bedside table and shake him a little so he can take some asprin.

"Here, take this, you'll start to feel better" I say handing him the glass and two tablets. He tries to sit up but struggles on his own so I help him, he manages to swallow the pills ok and lies back down again. I perch myself on the edge of the bed and just look at him intently, and after a while a realise he's looking straight back at me…I'm not sure how long this has gone on for but I look at the clock and realise the time, I've got to be in work early tomorrow.

"I'd better be going now Mac, I'll come by and check on you in the morning" I say getting up from the bed but as I do so, he grabs my wrist to stop me from leaving.

"No, don't go, can you stay here please?" he says sounding so weak and helpless I can't possibly say no to him. I nod.

"I'll just be on the couch" I say smiling to comfort him. He shakes his head.

"No, Stay here, in the bed with me" he says breathlessly. I'm not sure if he understands what he's asking me. Alarm bells are ringing inside my head. I've been able to keep my feelings at bay for quite some time but what he's asking of me is not helping matters. I'm not sure what to say but I get the feeling he's not going to let me have a say in the matter.

"Please, I don't want to be alone" he says shivering. I give in and slip my shoes off and climb into the otherside of the bed. As soon as I get comfortable he moves over and places himself in my arms. It doesn't look as if I'm going anywhere, I think to myself as he snuggles into my chest, the heat of his fever radiates through my body and I instinctivly put my arms around him and hold him close to me, my chin rests on his head and I rub his back with my hand. He falls asleep in no time. His soft emrace against my body making me feel more at home with someone than I have ever been in my entire life. I can feel his heart beating against my chest and a little bit of me wished we could stay like this forever. But I knew this was a sick Mac, who might not remember what had happened and may just go back to being normal Mac and we'd just go back to normal. I don't think I could ever go back to normal after this.

I lie on his bed, with him comfortably in my arms and I take in my surroundings. I don't think I've ever been in his room before and I'm not sure if it's what I expected or not, not that I've ever imagined his bedroom before.

A sad feeling decends on me. There is not a single photograph of Claire in this room. I thought he might of atleast kept something. I remember that day of rage when I came to deliever some files he'd asked for and found him piling everything into black bin bags. Claire was a wonderful woman and I wonder if he ever regrets throwing all the memories of her away. He reminds me of reality as he tightens his grip around my waist, My arm moves down from his back to his hands. His hands are really smooth considering what they come into contact every day. I can't actually believe what I've done this evening, I'm lying in bed with my boss asleep across me. With that thought in my head I fall asleep.

I wake up to the sound of his phone ringing. It's nearly 7am and I don't think Mac is going to be in work again today. I lean over his relaxed, sleeping form and reach for the phone on the night stand.

"Hello?" I say answering the phone, not quite believing I just answered his phone.

"Stella? Is that you?" I hear Danny ask on the other end. I hold my breath, I am I going to say? The truth, the truth is the best.

"Yes, Danny it's me" I say.

"Your over his early" Danny implies.

"I spent the night" I say, I can hear Danny choking on his coffee.

"He's really not well, so he won't be in again today" I finish.

"Are you coming in or are you going to play nurse?" Danny laughs. Oh he can be sooo irriating at times.

"No, I'm not. He's really sick, so I'm going to make sure he's alright, I'm sure you can handle things for one day!" I say, wondering what rumours I'm going to be faced with when I do return to the lab.

"No problem Stella. Tell Mac I said get well soon. Though, I expect you'll do a fine job of nursing him back to health" Danny says chuckling again.

"Danny!" I say sternly, this causes Mac to stir on top of me.

"Sorry, Stella, I'll let you get on. See you tomorrow" he says. I hang up quickly and find Mac looking up at me contently. He doesn't seem at all phases by the situation and the position we are in.

"Good Morning" he says with a smile on his face.

"Are you feeling better?" I ask, placing my hand over his forehead. He nods.

"Yeah, a little" he says propping himself up.

"I told you a good night's sleep would do the trick" I say stretching my aching back.

"You did?" he says.

"You were pretty out of it, last night" I say

"Did I say anything stupid?" he asks, slightly concerned.

"No," I say wishing he had so I could hold it against him in a form of blackmail.

"Thank you for staying with me" he says taking my hand and playing idily with my fingers, all of a sudden I feel warm and fuzzy inside.

"Your welcome, it's what we do, we look after each other" I say. He suddenly moves his hand from my fingers to my cheek,

"No, I mean it. I don't just mean for last night. I mean for all the times when you've been there for me. I don't know what I've done to deserve you, Stella" he says, I'm not really sure what to say.

"You do the same for me" I say, he frowns.

"But I haven't, I've been a really bad friend to you" I says,

"As long as your around I don't really care" I say. Why had I said that? What did it mean? If he was going to ask these questions I wasn't prepared to give answers to them.

"It was strange waking up next to you" he says. _On top of me more like _I think to myself.

"But I liked it" he said. This is getting far to complicated for my liking where are we going with this?

"I couldn't just leave you here all by yourself" I say.

"That's my Stella" he says falling asleep again. _My Stella? When have I been his Stella. It sounds nice though._

I don't know why but I make matters even more confusing when I place I soft kiss on his forehead, he's definitly cooled down so I can't blame this on his fever because it's no longer there. He sits up and moves in towards me. I know what's going to happen and as much as I want it to happen I find myself trying to stall it.

"Well, We can't have you off work for too long otherwise the lab techs will start to forget who's boss and…" before I can say another word, his lips are on my mine, I've never felt a feeling as glorious as this. I move closer to him and bring my hand to his cheek and he deepens the kiss knowing that I have responded by not pushing him away. What does this mean for us now? Everything is going to change. I'm scared and exited all at the same time. He notices my unease and pulls away.

"What's the matter? I'm sorry if I made a mistake, I thought that…I don't know what I thought, I just thought, that you and me and everything that…" it's one of the things I love about Mac when he rambles. My fears evaporate just as quickly as they dawned on me and I silence him with a passionate kiss. The phone blares wildly again but without breaking the kiss, he reaches behind him and disconnects the call.

"If I get sick it's all your fault!" I say, he smiles.

"Don't worry, I'll take care you!" he says smiling. _Oh, I am so in love with Mac Taylor._


End file.
